We look forward to working collaboratively with the staff and students at Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute as we continue to strive for educational excellence for our students and community.

At Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute we strive to promote a culture of learning: a culture that challenges our students and staff to be lifelong learners; to foster curiosity and exploration; to recognize the joy in learning; to promote critical thinking; and to connect all student learning to their own lives and their community. We are a school that learns. Our staff understands the great privilege connected to working with youth and teaching our youth to become positive contributors within our community and society. We take this privilege seriously.

As a school that learns, this year we as a staff will endeavour to make connections across disciplines – arts and sciences, humanities and technology. We believe that exploring these authentic connections is a pathway toward innovation, imagination, and genuine learning. Our school will continue to promote communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity as key tools for success in the 21st century. As such, we identified four main goals in our school improvement plan that align with the UCDSB improvement plan and address the student needs identified in our data: critical literacy skill development; numeracy skill development at the ‘applied’ levels with a focus on problem solving and authentic math tasks; improved understanding and engagement of all students with respect to learning skills and work habits; improved student engagement through the use of student voice in their learning and a focus on student mental health.

All four goals will be achieved by continued review and enhancement of our assessment practices. As a staff we continue to explore how ‘assessment for learning’ and ‘assessment as learning’ will drive student achievement as effective assessment practices to inform and guide our instruction and enhance student engagement and understanding.

It is hoped that this document is used as a reference to refresh your memory and shape your thinking as we strive to fulfil the mission, vision, and values of Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute.

As we move into the 2018-19 school year, the moral imperative of all UCDSB staff is to continue to do more than teach. Our role is to look inside of each student and to help attach students to their dreams. We are proud to be a part of UCDSB and its focus on student success and we are also fortunate to be able to work with such a caring, vibrant, and creative staff at our school.